986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Upgrade 01 2.7L to 03 S? What do you guys think?

socratic · 04-13-2006, 05:10 PM

You guys are GREAT. Wonderful feedback from across the spectrum of choices. And frankly you are ALL correct in your respective perspectives

It is a tough choice.

I found out today that it's a bit expensive to go from an an 00 2.7 to an 03 S due to the increase to go from a 2.7 to a 3.2 within a model year and then to increase 2 model years. It got a quote of about $16,000 (just a rough figure) to make the jump. The dealer (not a Porsche dealer) was commenting that I should consider going all the way to a used 2005, which should be very close in performance he said for "only" another $7000 (that is a total of $23,000). He was saying that there aren't a lot of off-lease 03 S models, which contradicts some of what I have read off of this forum by those like BruceLee who know. [I'm under the impression there are lots of off-lease 03 S models available].

A couple of more thoughts:

The biggest cost of the modifications in Option 2 is the Supercharger. If I skip that, I'd cut $8000 off of Option 2. But sadly the supercharger's additional oomph would be the most thrilling part too!

Another factor is that 95% of the time I would not notice or use the difference between the 2.7 and the 3.2 because I drive the Boxster as my everyday car (except when it rains). So that means 95% of the time it's normal commuting, stop and go traffic, going to work, going to the supermarket, etc. Whereas for some of you where it's your "fun" car or track car, and thus everytime you take it out you're really enjoying the extra power. So why not stick with my 01 2.7 [this is the MNBoxster recommendation].

NastyBoxster's plan (simply go to an S in the same model year) is quite appealing, especially if I can score one like his (low miles, Litronics). Some things I would miss (versus going 03) are the glass rear window and a glove compartment. But the biggest thing I would miss would be no warranty and no option to add an extended warranty. My 01 has been quite good so far. The only wierdo thing was the combo of worn out serpentine belt pulleys and a worn shaft on the alternator (both now fixed). There is also the threat of an RMS leak due to observed wetness near the RMS seal but so far no oil drips after the oil change on the white plastic I laid out underneath the car. After some research I'm no longer worried about the RMS issue. Since I'm at 43,000 miles, I'm probably due for a clutch at some point and I'll just pop in a new RMS when the clutch is done. So the worry of buying an out-of-warranty 01 S is that I'm buying someone else's problems whereas I've gotten a year and bit's history on my car and know that it's fine (knock wood).

04-13-2006, 05:10 PM	#9
socratic Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 183	You guys are GREAT. Wonderful feedback from across the spectrum of choices. And frankly you are ALL correct in your respective perspectives It is a tough choice. I found out today that it's a bit expensive to go from an an 00 2.7 to an 03 S due to the increase to go from a 2.7 to a 3.2 within a model year and then to increase 2 model years. It got a quote of about $16,000 (just a rough figure) to make the jump. The dealer (not a Porsche dealer) was commenting that I should consider going all the way to a used 2005, which should be very close in performance he said for "only" another $7000 (that is a total of $23,000). He was saying that there aren't a lot of off-lease 03 S models, which contradicts some of what I have read off of this forum by those like BruceLee who know. [I'm under the impression there are lots of off-lease 03 S models available]. A couple of more thoughts: The biggest cost of the modifications in Option 2 is the Supercharger. If I skip that, I'd cut $8000 off of Option 2. But sadly the supercharger's additional oomph would be the most thrilling part too! Another factor is that 95% of the time I would not notice or use the difference between the 2.7 and the 3.2 because I drive the Boxster as my everyday car (except when it rains). So that means 95% of the time it's normal commuting, stop and go traffic, going to work, going to the supermarket, etc. Whereas for some of you where it's your "fun" car or track car, and thus everytime you take it out you're really enjoying the extra power. So why not stick with my 01 2.7 [this is the MNBoxster recommendation]. NastyBoxster's plan (simply go to an S in the same model year) is quite appealing, especially if I can score one like his (low miles, Litronics). Some things I would miss (versus going 03) are the glass rear window and a glove compartment. But the biggest thing I would miss would be no warranty and no option to add an extended warranty. My 01 has been quite good so far. The only wierdo thing was the combo of worn out serpentine belt pulleys and a worn shaft on the alternator (both now fixed). There is also the threat of an RMS leak due to observed wetness near the RMS seal but so far no oil drips after the oil change on the white plastic I laid out underneath the car. After some research I'm no longer worried about the RMS issue. Since I'm at 43,000 miles, I'm probably due for a clutch at some point and I'll just pop in a new RMS when the clutch is done. So the worry of buying an out-of-warranty 01 S is that I'm buying someone else's problems whereas I've gotten a year and bit's history on my car and know that it's fine (knock wood).